A person pouring liquid from a bottle is often faced with the liquid pouring erratically and even splashing due to “glugging” (that is, uneven flow during pouring) caused by unbalanced pressures between the atmospheric air pressure outside the bottle and the air pressure within the bottle. Referring now to FIG. 1, a bottle 100 is shown in a cross-sectional view, wherein the cross-sectional alignment is taken along line 1-1 of the top elevation view of the bottle 100 depicted in FIG. 2. The bottle 100 includes a bottle wall 104 having an exterior surface 108. The bottle wall 104 includes a base 112 and extends from the base 112 to the top 116 of the bottle 100. The top 116 of the bottle 100 further includes a bottle opening 120 that leads to the bottle interior 124. The bottle interior 124 is defined by an interior surface 128 of the bottle wall 104. The bottle 100 has a bottle length BL, wherein the bottle length BL is defined herein as the height of the bottle interior 124; that is, the distance between the interior surface 128 of the bottle wall 104 at the deepest portion of the base 112 of the bottle 100 and a top edge 132 of the bottle rim 136 at the top 116.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an enlarged cross-sectional view of an upper portion 140 of the bottle 100 is shown. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a variety of sealing mechanisms may be used to seal a bottle. By way of example, a threaded cap may be used to seal the bottle. Such a configuration is illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein a threaded cap 148 is depicted directly above the bottle 100. The upper portion 140 of the bottle 100 includes a bottleneck 152. Threads 156 along the exterior surface 108 of the bottleneck 152 are configured to engage threads within cap 148.
Still referring to FIG. 3, the bottleneck 152 includes a substantially constant bottleneck diameter DBottleneck. The bottleneck 152 itself extends from the bottle rim 136 to a location where the bottle 100 begins its taper outward. That is, where the diameter of the bottle 100 increases from the bottleneck diameter DBottleneck. Accordingly, the bottleneck 152 has a bottleneck length LBottleneck that is defined as the distance between the bottle rim 136 and the bottleneck base 160, which is the location where the bottleneck diameter DBottleneck no longer remains substantially constant.
Prior devices for attempting to provide for smooth fluid pouring have performance issues, require significant materials, and/or have other limitations, such as extending above the bottle top, thereby complicating or even preventing recapping/resealing of the bottle. Accordingly, there is a need for other devices to address the glugging problem associated with pouring liquids from a bottle.